Tony Copsey

Last updated
Tony Copsey
Full nameAnthony Hugh Copsey
Date of birth (1965-01-25) 25 January 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Romford, Essex, England
Height6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight246 lb (112 kg)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1992–94 Wales 16 (0)

Anthony Hugh Copsey (born 25 January 1965) is an English-born former Wales rugby union international.

Contents

Copsey was born and raised in Essex, the youngest of five children. He attended St Edward's Comprehensive School, Romford, and continued tertiary studies in Wales at Cardiff Institute of Higher Education. While studying in Wales he got recruited by Llanelli RFC, debuting for the club in 1988. He played his rugby as a lock. [1]

Qualifying for Wales through residency, Copsey made his debut against Ireland at Lansdowne Road in the 1992 Five Nations and was considered fortunate to not be sent off only 12 minutes into the match after punching Neil Francis. He earned 16 caps in total with Wales and was a member of the squad that won the 1994 Five Nations Championship. [2]

Copsey played professional rugby with Saracens in the back end of his career. He was managing director of Harlequins from 2000 to 2007, CEO of Wasps for two years, then an interim CEO at London Scottish and London Welsh. [3] [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasps RFC</span> Professional rugby team based in Coventry, England

Wasps Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in relegation from the league and all staff being made redundant. They exited administration on 16 December 2022.

Gareth Lloyd Rees is a Canadian former international rugby union footballer who played at fly-half and full back positions. Rees played for several English club sides, including Wasps and Harlequins. He won 55 caps for Canada, captaining them on 23 occasions and scoring 487 test points. In October 2011, Rees received arguably his greatest honour with induction to the IRB Hall of Fame. He and fellow 2011 inductee Brian Lima of Samoa are the first members of the IRB Hall from nations outside of the traditional top tier of the sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Howley</span> Former Welsh rugby union player/current coach

Robert Howley is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. As a player, he won 59 caps for Wales, 22 of them as captain. He was part of the Wales coaching staff from 2008 to 2019. He is currently a coaching consultant for the Toronto Arrows in Major League Rugby (MLR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Lewsey</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Owen Joshua Lewsey MBE is an English former rugby union player who represented England and the British and Irish Lions. Lewsey is a former British Army Officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaun Edwards</span> English rugby league footballer and rugby union coach

Shaun Edwards, OBE is an English rugby union coach and former rugby league player, who is the defence coach for the France national team. A scrum-half or stand-off, Edwards is the most decorated player in rugby league history, with 37 winner's medals. In 2015 he was the 25th person inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Jones (rugby union)</span> Wales and British Lions international rugby union player

Stephen Michael Jones is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player who played primarily at fly-half. He played more than 100 times for Wales and six times for the British & Irish Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Evans (rugby union)</span> Rugby player

Nicholas John Evans is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played at fly-half and fullback. He played for the Highlanders and the Blues in Super 14. At 28 he joined Harlequins for the 2008–09 Premiership Rugby season, and remained with the club until his retirement on a deal reportedly worth £320,000 a year. He retired at the end of the 2016–17 season and is now a coach for Quins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conor O'Shea</span> Irish rugby union coach and player

Conor O'Shea is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the Italy national team from 2016 to 2019. He played as a full back and occasionally at out-half and centre for Ireland, Lansdowne and London Irish. He has also coached London Irish and Harlequins, and held management positions with the English Rugby Football Union and the English Institute of Sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Phillips (rugby union)</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer

William Michael Phillips is a rugby union player who plays at scrum-half. On 16 March 2013, Phillips surpassed the record of 76 caps set by Dwayne Peel as the most capped scrum-half for Wales.

Rupert Henry St. John Barker Moon is a former Wales international rugby union player. He played club rugby for Welsh clubs Abertillery and Neath but is most associated with Llanelli, who he captained during their unprecedented triple success season of 1992 when they won the League and Cup, and beat then Rugby World Cup Champions Australia. He played international rugby for Wales at scrum half, winning 24 caps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Jones (rugby union, born 1981)</span> Wales and British Lions international rugby union player

Adam Rhys Jones is a Welsh former professional international rugby union player for Wales and the British & Irish Lions. He is currently scrum coach for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Brown (rugby union)</span> England international rugby union player

Mike Brown is an English professional rugby union player who plays fullback or wing for Leicester Tigers in Premiership Rugby. Brown joined the Harlequins senior team in 2005, having played youth rugby at Salisbury and Melksham, and began playing for the England first team two years later. Between 2021–2022 Brown played a season for Newcastle Falcons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlesex Rugby Football Union</span> Rugby team

Middlesex Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Middlesex, England; Middlesex is a historic county of England that covers areas in the ceremonial counties of Greater London, Surrey and Hertfordshire. The historic county is still in use when referring to sport, and some businesses in the area. Middlesex RFU was originally created as the Middlesex County Rugby Club but within six years was being referred to as the Middlesex County Rugby Football Union and is now known simply as Middlesex Rugby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Kruis</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

George Edward John Kruis is an English former professional rugby union player. He played lock for Saracens and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He was almost always used as a jumper in the line-out due to his height and athleticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Dickson</span> Rugby player

Karl Dickson, is an English professional rugby union referee and former scrum half for Bedford Blues and Harlequins. He has previously coached at St. John's School, Leatherhead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Ball (rugby union)</span> Welsh rugby player

Jake Ball is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock. Ball played over 100 times for the Scarlets regional side in Wales and was capped 50 times for the Wales national rugby union team. In 2021, Ball retired from international rugby to join Green Rockets Tokatsu in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Launchbury</span> England international rugby union footballer

Joseph Oliver Launchbury is an English rugby union lock. He represents England at international level and previously played for the under-18s and under-20s before making his Test debut in 2012. Launchbury plays mainly in the second row but is also comfortable as a blindside flanker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michele Campagnaro</span> Italian rugby union player

Michele Campagnaro is a former Italian rugby union player. He represented Italy at international level, having made his test debut against Fiji during the 2013 Autumn Internationals.

Tomas Francis is a Wales international rugby union player who plays at tight head prop for Ospreys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dafydd Jenkins (rugby union)</span> Welsh rugby union player

Dafydd Jenkins is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for Premiership Rugby club Exeter Chiefs and captains the Wales national team.

References

  1. "Copsey determined to prove his allegiance". The Daily Telegraph . 10 January 1992.
  2. Orders, Mark (22 February 2018). "The Welsh punch that floored Ireland's most outspoken columnist". Wales Online .
  3. Douglas, Steve (13 April 2012). "Harlequins beckon after Tony Copsey quits Wasps". Evening Standard .
  4. "Copsey appointed CEO at London Welsh". BBC Sport . 27 December 2012.